Tag Archives: Feral cats

As part of our Christmas/New Year appeal and in order to help us raise some much needed funds to neuter feral cats in county Cork, Community Cats Network have organised a raffle with some fantastic prizes kindly sponsored by local businesses and supporters. The draw will take place on the 11th of January 2019 in Harty’s Pub in Cloyne.

Tickets are only €1 each or €5 for a book of 6 tickets, but by buying one, you could make a massive difference to the lives of feral cats. They can be bought online (books only) or from one of our volunteers. If you would like to help us by taking some books of tickets to sell to friends, colleagues and family, please get in touch! Photo of your ticket(s) will be emailed to you when buying online. For alternative methods of payment, please email us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com.

Note that if collection of prize cannot be organised locally (county Cork), postage will be at your own charge.

We will also have In-House Prizes on the night (reserved to Harty’s patrons buying tickets on the night).

We would like to thank all the businesses and supporters who have sponsored this raffle, as well as Harty’s Pub for hosting the draw. A huge thank you goes out to all the supporters who have bought a ticket and to all the volunteers who have sourced prizes and sold tickets for us.

Tickets are only €1 each of €5 for a book of 6 and can be bought from one of our volunteers. They can also be bought online here (books only). Photo of your tickets will be emailed to you when buying online. For alternative methods of payment, please email us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com.

We are delighted to have been chosen as one of the charities for the community fund in Tesco in Clonmel.

We have been operating our Trap-Neuter-Return scheme in the South Tipp area for nearly two years now thanks to the dedication of one volunteer. In 2017 only, near to 100 cats were helped in the area. However, we have found it very difficult to raise enough funds to support the overwhelming number of cats we have been made aware of and not many carers seem to be in a position to cover for the cost of neutering or willing to organise fundraisers. As a result, we have had to turn down some of the enquiries we have received.

Being one of the recipients of the Tesco community fund is a fantastic opportunity to raise some vital funds so that we can continue to help out cats (and their people) in the area. Please, consider popping to Tesco in Clonmel to support the cause by putting your blue tokens in the CCN urn. You can also get in touch with ccntipp@gmail.com for more information.

We recently put up an appeal to raise funds to help with TNR in the rural Mallow area. However, we have been struggling with raising funds while the enquiries have kept coming in. Thankfully, Anna from AnyLittleThings has once more come to the rescue and is holding an auction this weekend to help to raise funds so that we can help more people to neuter feral cats in that area.

Because very little neutering has been done in that area, colonies are quite large, sometimes reaching 20 cats (if not more) at this time of the year and carers simply cannot afford the full cost involved in neutering all these cats. Hopefully, by putting all our efforts together we will manage to raise enough to help more cats.

Please, take the time to check the auction at AnyLittleThings. It will kick off at 8pm today and end at 8pm on Tuesday. There will be some lovely pieces, so please bid at your heart’s content and help us to help them!

You can see photos from one of the project we recently carried out in the area (along with another 12 cats TNRed that week) here, and we are due to go back at the end of the month to carry out to more large TNR project.

As part of our Christmas/New Year appeal and in order to help us raise some much needed funds to neuter feral cats in county Cork, Community Cats Network have organised a raffle with some fantastic prizes kindly sponsored by local businesses and supporters. Tickets are only €1 each or €5 for a book of 6 tickets, but by buying one, you could make a massive difference to the lives of feral cats.

The draw will take place on the 5th of January in Harty’s Pub in Cloyne.

Tickets are only €1 each of €5 for a book of 6 and can be bought online or from one of our volunteers. Photo of your ticket(s) will be emailed to you when buying online. For other methods of payment, please email us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com.

Note that if collection locally cannot be organised, postage will be at your own charge.

We will also have In-House Prizes on the night (reserved to Harty’s patrons buying tickets on the night). Congratulations to Ger Sweetnam, Niamh Cronin, Gerry Lawton (Midleton), Teresa Lawton, Jake Murry, Jerry Lawton (Cloyne) X2, Pat Murphy, McCarthy’s Family and James Collins.

We would like to thank all the businesses and supporters who have sponsored this raffle, as well as Harty’s Pub for hosting the draw. A huge thank you goes out to all the supporters who have bought a ticket and to all the volunteers who have sourced prizes and sold tickets for us.

Tickets are only €1 each of €5 for a book of 6 and can be bought from one of our volunteers, from Midleton Vets, Cloyne Vets or the Ballycotton Shop. They can also be bought online here (books only). Photo of your tickets will be emailed to you when buying online. For alternative methods of payment, please email us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com.

As part of our Christmas/New Year appeal and in order to help us raise much needed funds to neuter feral cats in county Cork, Community Cats Network has organised a raffle with some fantastic prizes sponsored by local businesses and supporters. Tickets are only €1 or €5 for a book of 6 tickets, but by buying one, you could make a massive difference to the lives of feral cats.

The draw will take place on the 5th of January in Harty’s Pub in Cloyne.

Tickets are only €1 each of €5 for a book of 6 and can be bought online or from one of our volunteers. Photo of your ticket(s) will be emailed to you when buying online. For alternative payment options, please email us.

We also have a number of prizes for people buying tickets on the night in Harty’s pub!

Prize A: Bottle of French Bubbly

Prize B: Pass for two for Gate Cinemas

Prize C: Toiletry Gift Set for Women

Prize D: Toiletry Gift Set for Men

Prize E: Four Star Pizza Voucher

Prize F: The Real Godfathers DVD Box Set

Prize G: Fancy Desktop Mouse

Prize H: Watch

Prize I: Travel Fund Jar – to take you anywhere in the world 😉

Prize J: Frame

Prize K: Handcrafted Jewellery Set

We would like to thank all the businesses and supporters who have sponsored this raffle, as well as Harty’s Pub for hosting the draw. A huge thank you goes out to all the supporters who have bought a ticket and to all the volunteers who have sourced prizes and sold tickets for us.

Tickets are only €1 each of €5 for a book of 6 and can be bought online or from one of our volunteers. Photo of your ticket(s) will be emailed to you when buying online.

“Hi guys! My name is Tom! I was a cute little thing when I was a kitten, well, that’s what the humans used to say. I wouldn’t let them touch me though. I would do like my mother and run away when they would approach and would only come back to eat the food they put down for us.

Then I grew up and I started to get interested in girls, so I hit the road looking for some. Oh boy! These were the good times! Always on the road going from place to place to meet the girls. Sometimes, the humans would be nice and throw me a bit of chicken, but often they would just chase me with a broom, screaming ‘dirty tom’. It’s not my fault if I sprayed a little, I had to mark my territory for other cats. I used to love visiting the farm: there were plenty of girls and I would drink that nice white liquid; it tasted so good! But I wouldn’t stay for too long and would keep travelling. I didn’t even have time to go hunting during the summers; I was a busy boy! I got into some pretty bad fights though. We all wanted the same girls, so we had to fight for them. Sometimes I’d lose, sometimes I’d win, especially when fighting with the sick cats, they weren’t very strong and would quickly give up, but I got some bad bites. At the end of the summers, I would be exhausted and hungry from all the travelling. So I would just visit all my favourite spots to get some food and rest, and play with the mice a little. But as soon as it would get warmer and the days would get longer, I was off again! Back on the road!

Then, one winter, I caught a bad cold. Usually, it would go away with food and rest, but I wasn’t very hungry. When the days got warmer, I started travelling again, but I was weak and didn’t have the energy anymore. I found a nice garden with some shelter and I sat there as I was in so much pain. The woman of the house started to give me all types of food, it smelled nice and I would eat a little, but it hurt my teeth and my throat. I could hear her say ‘skin and bones’ all the time.

One day, another woman came with some strange box with bars on it. She put a lot of nice smelly food in it, but I couldn’t eat. Then she poured some of the sweet white liquid we had at the farm, except that it came from a bottle. I forced myself to stand up to have a bit of that as it reminded me so much of the good old days. When I went in the box, I heard a noise. I turned around, but I couldn’t get out. When the woman approached, I tried to fight but didn’t have the energy. And then it was dark and I calmed down.

The box moved and me with it. Then I heard the strange noise moving objects make. Next thing, there were other faces looking at me; I heard them say ‘Poor boy!’. I felt something stinging me and I dozed off. I could hear their voices though, words like ‘disease’, ’emaciated’, ‘not grooming’, ‘virus’, ‘aids’. Then the girl with the box was back. She started to rub my head. It was strange, I had never been touched by a human before, but I didn’t care. She was saying that it would be ok, that I wouldn’t be suffering anymore and that I would go to a better place (maybe she meant the farm?). I felt a prick and some tingling in my veins. Then, I couldn’t see the faces anymore, I couldn’t hear their voices and the pain was gone…”

***

“Hi folks! My name is Harry! I’m Tom’s cousin. I was like Tom when I was young, always running after the girls. I guess I was luckier than him though as I found a nice garden. The woman of the house would always give me some nice tasty food and would call me ‘handsome’. There were some girls there too, but they had no interest in me. Oh, it was ok, I would wander to look for others, but I would always come back to the garden with nice food, where I could have a snooze too.

One day, a woman came, she had a box made of bars. She put some food in it. I went to check, but I wasn’t that hungry that I would go in that strange box. Then she put another box out, with more food. It was bigger and I started to feel hungry, so I went in. I heard something slamming. When the woman approached, I tried to run away, but I couldn’t escape. Then it got dark and I heard the noise moving objects make.

Next thing, I could hear new voices and I felt something stinging me. I went off to sleep. When I woke up, I was feeling really strange, a bit groggy and as if something was missing. I saw the face of the woman with the box and again we were in the moving object. When it stopped, it felt very familiar around me. The light came back and I could recognise the garden I liked so much. I ran away, but when the woman with the box was gone, I came back for some nice food. Tasty!

I went looking for the girls again, but it wasn’t the same, so I lost interest and decided to stay in the garden with nice food. I would lie in the warm sun and if it rained I had a little house where I could stay dry. To pass the time, I would play with the mice. The woman of the house would bring me food a few times a day and I loved it, so I started to run towards her and would rub against her legs. One day, she moved her hand towards me and touched my head. It felt really strange. She kept doing it and eventually I got used to it and I even started to like it. Poor old Tom, he had such a rough life! It’s a pity he didn’t find a nice garden like mine!”

Don’t ignore tom cats; give them a chance to have a good life by having them neutered. By having tom cats neutered, you are reducing the spread of diseases and viruses, such as FIV (feline AIDS) and FeLV (Feline Leukemia). Neutered tom cats will live longer and are less likely to roam, fight and spray.

As part of National Feral Cats Awareness Week, two of our main volunteers were interviewed on Cork’s 96fm Opinion Line to discuss feral cats and the importance of neutering. You can listen to the podcast (at 1:46).

From the 8th to the 14th of August, we will be celebrating National Feral Cat Awareness Week, an initiative from Feral Cats Ireland. Throughout the week, some vets across the country will offer discounted rates for the neutering of feral cats. Most importantly, this is a week to raise awareness about the plight of feral cats and about the solution to the issue of cat over-population: TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return).

The small group of volunteers at Community Cats Network will, as always, be busy trapping cats for neutering, but throughout the week, we will attempt to post some information about caring for feral cats and about how YOU can make a difference and help to solve the problem. Raising awareness is key as, at the origin of the problem, is not only a set of old-fashioned attitudes towards cat care, but most importantly a lack of information about how feral cats can be helped and enjoy better lives. It is down to every one of us to spread the word about TNR programmes and about the benefits of neutering and we count on you in this endeavour.

We will be launching the week with two information stalls in Maxi Zoo on the 6th of August, one in the Midleton store, the other in the Douglas store. We hope you can join us for a chat on the day and will be happy to share information about the work we do with you.

To enter the draw, just make a donation here (€2 per line or €5 for 3 lines). The draw will take place on the 10th of April at 9pm and the winner will be announced on our Facebook page. All proceeds will go towards the cost of neutering of stray and feral cats in Mitchelstown.

The more lines you buy, the better your chances to win and the more cats we can help!

We thank you in advance for your support! We would like to thank CARE Rescue for their kind donation to help cats in Mitchelstown!